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Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Bookish Thoughts: Unseen by Karin Slaughter

Unseen by Karin Slaughter

Delacorte Press, 2013

Crime Fiction; 400 pgs

From the Publisher:

Will Trent is a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent whose latest case has him posing as Bill Black, a scary ex-con who rides a motorcycle around Macon, Georgia, and trails an air of violence wherever he goes. The cover has worked and he has caught the eye of a wiry little drug dealer who thinks he might be a useful ally. But undercover and cut off from the support of the woman he loves, Sara Linton, Will finds his demons catching up with him.

Although she has no idea where Will has gone, or why, Sara herself has come to Macon because of a cop shooting: Her stepson, Jared, has been gunned down in his own home. Sara holds Lena, Jared’s wife, responsible: Lena, a detective, has been a magnet for trouble all her life, and Jared’s shooting is not the first time someone Sara loved got caught in the crossfire. Furious, Sara finds herself involved in the same case that Will is working without even knowing it, and soon danger is swirling around both of them.

Unseen is the first novel I have read by Karin Slaughter, an author who I have been wanting to try for years. It is a part of a series; however, the book stands well on its own. I had no trouble jumping right into the lives of the characters and following along on Will Trent's latest investigation.

The novel opens with Lena, a detective who has just undergone an intense Internal Affairs review of a raid gone wrong. She'd recently suffered a terrible loss in her personal life as well, one that has impacted her relationship with her husband even further. Suddenly men burst into her home and start shooting; her husband nearly dead. It was a hell of an opening. And one that set the tone for the rest of the book. The intensity and suspense did not let up much in the pages to come.

It appears the Macon police are working on one crime and the Georgia Bureau of Investigations are working on another. Somehow both seem to be connected. As Will and his partner set out to untangle the mess in front of them, they uncover quite a few secrets.

I took to Will right away. He seems like a good man, hardworking and interested in justice. I wasn't so sure about his girlfriend, Dr. Sara Linton. I wanted to like her, and most of the time I did. There were moments though I felt she passed judgement too quickly and wasn't as understanding as I assumed her character should be. Lena was another tough nut to crack. She was smart, but she was tough and too easily pushed people away. I only have a few minor complaints in terms of character behavior, overall, but nothing to hurt my enjoyment of the book. I never really fully understood the feud between Lena and Sara. I thought Sara was being unfair to Lena much of the time. But then, Lena, had her moment of meanness as well. I can't help but think this is an area that would have been more clear had I read previous books and known their back stories.

There was quite a bit going on in the novel. Karin Slaughter juggles several story lines in the air before tying everything together in a somewhat surprising ending. I definitely will be reading more of Karin Slaughter's work in the future.

I really enjoy this series, even though I haven't read them all. But in the several I have read, there is definitely history that makes up these personalities, and I guess I've come to expect their eccentricities. I think my favorite one was Criminal.

I read my first Karin Slaughter just a few months ago. Not impressed with her writing, she couldn't compete with Kathy Reichs to whom I'd seen her compared, unlike yourself I'm not too sure if I'll be reading any more of her books.

I have read every single one except for when she puts out (.5) in-between novellas. I started with book #4, then backtracked and read them all in order. Used book stores were a good source for this. If someone wants to jump into the series mid-way do it when the Atlanta Series with Will Trent took over. It used to be called Grant County for the first half of the series. Not too necessary to read all unless you want background on the few characters that tagged along into this second series. Glad you enjoyed it!

Rita - Thanks for the tip! One thing about jumping into series is not knowing the best place to start mid-ship. Beginning is always best, but sometimes it's not the most convenient when jumping in so late in the game.

I've read one of her books but it's been such a long time. I think then I probably wasn't as much into crime fiction - I probably liked cozy mysteries more because the violence was a bit too much for me. I wonder if I would like this series more now. Glad to hear you enjoyed it.

Iliana - I didn't think there was a lot of violence in this particular book. Given Tracy's statement about comparisons being made between Reichs and Slaughter though, I can just imagine there may be quite a bit in others.

I have the very first one in the series to read, have had for a while on my shelf. I'm not sure why I haven't read it yet, so many people I know enjoy this series. Glad you enjoyed this one, and good to know it is still good some books into it. I'll be interested to see if I have the same reactions to the main characters (especially the females) that you do. Will you read more in the series, do you think, Wendy?

I think that I *may* have read one of this author's books before but I'm honestly not for sure. This one sounds really good so if I haven't I will definitely be checking this author out. LOL! Sometimes there are just too many authors/books to keep track of :) Great review!

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At the age of five, Literary Feline (aka Wendy) was diagnosed as a fabulavore. Due to the low story content of movies and television, she has required a steady supply of books to provide her sustenance. She currently resides in California with her loving husband, adorable daughter, and two affectionate and sassy cats. Literary Feline has broadened her nutritional sources by reviewing books. Please note: Literary Feline is not a bibliovore. She's not eating the books for goodness' sake.